Spring insight2050 Academy to focus on future of local and regional mobility

Hop on an electric scooter to the bus stop and then take COTA down to MORPC for the Spring 2019 insight2050 Academy. The focus on the five-session academy every Friday in March will be complete streets, transportation options, new technology, and old-fashioned walking.

The Academy kicks off on Friday, March 1, at 9 a.m. and continues each Friday morning through March 29. It is aimed at elected and appointed officials of Central Ohio communities, engineers, transportation officials, and other advocates of transportation options. It will showcase the experiences of Central Ohio communities that have adopted, or are developing, complete streets policies. The cost and application information will be announced in late January.

The first session, on March 1, will feature an overview of the insight2050 data and scenarios by MORPC staff, followed by a presentation about the ways in which land use shapes the transportation system. A third speaker will discuss how technology, demographics, and changing tastes are forcing local governments to rethink transportation planning.

The next session will explore complete streets policies by showcasing examples in Central Ohio and through interactive exercises. One session will show the concept of “rapid build,” “low-stress” bicycle networks and other models. Another will examine the roles of bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, and other “micro-mobility” modes that – along with ride-hailing, autonomous vehicles, and shuttles – will require communities to plan for “curbside management.”

Additional topics include COTA’s rapidly changing role in managing connections of multiple modes of local travel, and its partnership with Smart Columbus and city engineers in gathering data, integrating systems, and exploring new technologies.

The final session on March 29 will put together pieces from the earlier session and recognize Academy graduates with certificates of completion. Application information will be available February 1 at getinsight2050.org.